Qatari official says there is regional consensus on engaging all parties in Syria
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman and adviser to the prime minister, Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari, says participants of the emergency meeting of foreign ministers and top officials from eight countries with interests in Syria, agreed on the need “to engage all parties on the ground and be inclusive in our engagement.”
The late Saturday meeting, hosted by Qatar, included Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Turkey.
Al-Ansari also said that would include the HTS, the main rebel group that has taken control of Damascus, branded a terrorist organization by the U.S. and United Nations.
He said the meeting participants were caught off guard by how quickly Assad was toppled and that the Syrian leader had not reached out to Qatar, but had spoken to other countries in the region in his final days. He said he did not know where Assad was.
Al-Ansari said the international community must now work together to create conditions where all Syrians can live in peace, regardless of their religious or ethnic group.
The main concern is “stability and safe transition,” he said. “No one group or party should feel unsafe in a future Syria.”
Al-Ansari spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the Doha Forum.
Source: Associated Press
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